


Love is a drug

by Teki



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Not Beta Read, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, The Pocky Game, keith is still a paladin here idk where in the timeline this is leave me alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 19:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13688250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teki/pseuds/Teki
Summary: After a day with a break from saving the universe, the paladins gathered in the common room to hang out a bit.They discuss norms back on Earth, argue about romance, and a Pocky game reveals something noone expected.(A valentines exchange gift for Ari!)





	Love is a drug

**Author's Note:**

> Happy valentines day Ari!! This is for uuuuu i hope u like it ;;a;;
> 
> Fair warning: this doesnt have a beta bcz u kno i was cramming in the last bit these last few hrs.

The Paladins were gathered in the common room after a somewhat slower day than usual. None of them had been on a far-away mission, and there had been no attacks to speak of. Hunk and Lance had been sent on a short errand to a close-by market on an allied planet while the rest focused on fixing and preparing the Castle for the next potential attack. Though the yellow and blue paladins both were good at navigating and orienting themselves in new spaces, they had managed to get ‘lost’ at the market, and came back to the Castle hours later than they should have, with several new things they weren’t supposed to get.

 

That was why Lance had those boxes of Pocky-like snacks he played with, leaning against the back of yellow paladin on the couch. Hunk didn’t mind Lance’s weight against his back as he was facing Pidge who was holding a new circular gadget that Hunk had brought back from the mall. It was somewhat similar to a Rubik’s cube, but circular and way more complicated. Lance had early on given up on watching them discuss how to solve it, as the alien Rubik’s cube often switched back and forth between the green and yellow paladins. Keith had placed himself not too far away after having picked up a device that functioned like a newspaper, and had been silently reading for the last few minutes.

 

As Lance repeatedly threw one of the Pocky boxes up in the air and caught it, he remembered what day it was. He let his head fall back on Hunk’s shoulder, and felt the bigger boy still a bit under him, knowing he’d caught his attention, even if they were focusing on different things.

 

«You know, today would have been Valentine’s.”

 

“It would?”

 

“Well, I mean, it still is. I guess the difference is that we’re here, and not on Earth, where they celebrate those holidays.”

 

Lance could feel Hunk shrug against his back.

 

“I didn’t know Valentine’s was a big deal for you,” Pidge said. “But after having said that I suddenly understand why it would be.”

 

“Yeah, Lance is a huge romantic,” Hunk chuckled. Lance smacked his bigger friend lightly on the arm.

 

“Yes, okay, so maybe I am a fan of the finer sides of courtmanship! So what? Either way, this Valentine’s would’ve been different…”

“How so—Ohhh..” Pidge perked up from the other side of Hunk. “That’s right, all of you are old would be old enough for the Test now, right?”

 

The question went unanswered as the doors on the other end of the room opened, and Allura stepped in smiling with her mice on her shoulders.

 

“Hello fellow paladins! What are we doing?” she said as she sat down between Pidge and Keith, looking rather relaxed.

 

“Hey Allura, done with today’s chores?” Hunk asked, looking up briefly from the gadget he had in his hands.

 

“Yep, Coran is currently administering the last few things, but he said he could do that alone,” Allura cheered.

 

 “We were talking about how Lance, Hunk and Keith are old enough for the Test,” Pidge said, which only earned a confused glare from Allura. Pidge sighed as she looked over at Lance in hope of some help from the groups self-proclaimed love expert, only to see him struggling with figuring out how to open the Pocky-look-alike box. She rolled her eyes before turning back to Allura.

 

“Well, on Earth we have this concept of soulmates. Basically, destined romantic partners that are supposed to be your better, other half. You find out if another person is your soulmate by kissing them, if they are you will both get matching marks, or tattoos, on some part of your body.”

 

“How interesting! But how will you know who to kiss?” Allura asked, curiosity clearly piqued.

 

“Well that’s kind of the thing,” Lance said as he sat up, now with a Pocky with his mouth. “You can’t go around kissing everyone you see. People tried, according to history, and it didn’t go over too well. So the governments worked out this test that’s like supposed to find your soulmate for you.”

 

“It’s a free service you can choose to use when you turn 18,” Hunk chimed in.

 

Allura got a thoughtful expression as she took a moment to mull things over.

 

“But,” she said, “that sounds like it could be extremely faulty—“

“It is,” Keith, who had been sitting quietly with his news-device this entire time, finally spoke up. “There’s many people who don’t believe in soulmates and decide against it, there’s also the chance of your soulmate being way older or younger than you, or that they’ve died, or don’t take the Test for some other reason take the Test. If not both parts take the Test and are registered in the system, it’s no use.”

 

“Yeah but who wouldn’t take a chance on finding their true love?” Lance said while chewing on a pocky-stick.

 

“A rising percentage of the population, more and more people are getting behind the notion of choosing to love someone every day is just as legit as having someone chosen for you by the universe,” Pidge said, factually.

 

“I know Shiro decided to not take it.”

 

“What!?” Lance nearly twisted off the couch as he turned to look at Keith. “Shiro didn’t do the Test?”

 

Lance’s shock only earned a shrug from Keith, who clearly couldn’t see why Lance was making a big deal out of it. Lance, in turn, sunk back on the couch with a sigh and a pat on the head from Hunk, who now turned his back so he could see all of the people in the room.

 

“It’s not that shocking, it’s Shiro after all. I can totally see him being on the ‘choosing love’ side,” Pidge said.

 

“But I wanna know who Shiro’s soulmate is,” Lance sulked, which earned another headpat from Hunk and an eyeroll from Pidge. “It’d just be fun to meet her!”

 

“So Shiro decided against it, hm?” Allura said, intrigued. “What would you guys choose? Would you do the test or not?”

 

“I think Lance’s answer is obvious,” Pidge said, looking over at Lance who was now sunk back in his seat with the Pocky in his mouth. “I personally don’t know, I haven’t really thought too much about it, but the whole soulmate business has never been a priority of mine.”

 

“For me it’d depend on when, or where, I could do it, I guess,” Hunk said. “If we never found Blue, and were still on Earth, I guess I’d do it because why not? But as of right now, well..” A certain joyous expression took place on the yellow paladins face as he started scratching the back of his head. “I’ve already met a very special stone girl, so I don’t really feel the need to meet someone else.”

 

A silence filled the room as everyone slowly looked over at Keith, who didn’t say anything for a long time. He seemed rather lost in his own thoughts for a moment, before realizing that the others were looking at him, which quickly made him snap back to reality with a “What?”.

 

“The Test,” Pidge said. “Would you do it or not?”

 

“I wouldn’t.”

 

“Of course he wouldn’t, Keith has the romanticism of a newborn baby!” Lance exclaimed, which earned some puzzled looks.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” said Keith.

 

“Well, come on, look at you,” Lance answered defensively. “you’re not exactly boyfriend material, I doubt you’ve ever even…” He looked around as if searching for something to finish his sentence with, when he remembered the Pocky pack in his lap, lifting it up with a triumphant look on his face “played the Pocky game!”

 

“Lance..” Hunk started, a worried look on his face, as Pidge hid her face in her hands with a groan. Allura audibly sighed, despite not knowing what the Pocky game was.

 

“What’s the matter with you? I bet you haven’t played it that much either!” Keith shot up from his seat, now clearly agitated.

 

“I’ll have you know I’ve played the Pocky game with more than enough girls, thank you very much!” Lance retaliated, standing up while pulling one of the pocky sticks out from the box in his hands.

 

“Yeah, well, you know what—“ Keith didn’t finish his sentence as he spurred into action, walking across the floor to where Lance stood, before pulling the Pocky stick from his hands. He put the stick between Lances lips with some force, though careful not to break the chocolate-covered biscuit stick as he resisted the urge to jam it down the blue paladins throat.

 

“Let’s see if you’re any good then!” Keith continued, rolling with the flow of his own annoyance and Lance’s apparent shock. With a challenging look Keith put the other end of the Pocky stick in his mouth, and that was about when Lance finally caught up with the situation. The blue paladins expression changed to a somewhat cocky one, with a twinkle in his eye and a thousand unsaid comebacks behind a smirking pair of lips.

 

“I can’t believe this is happening right now,” said Pidge, still sitting on the couch with her legs crossed and the alien Rubik’s cube now in her hands.

 

“Same, I know their arguments can get ridiculous but I honestly didn’t think it’d go this far,” Hunk said, watching the two standing with a look of disbelief.

 

“I am somewhat perplexed as to what is happening right now,” said Allura while looking over at the two sitting paladins.

 

“Well, back on Earth there was this game where you’d share a stick-shaped treat with another person, usually someone of romantic interest to you but not necessarily, and the person who ate the most without breaking the stick won. It’s rather stupid—Aah, they’re getting too close!” Pidge almost yelped as she dropped the Rubik’s cube into her lap in favor of blocking her own vision.

 

“It’s a silly game that was popular for a while but not so much anymore,” Hunk said, smiling at Allura.

 

“Can one of you two lose already, so we can move on?” Pidge loudly exclaimed from behind her hands.

 

But neither Keith nor Lance had any plans of backing down, both so close the tips of their noses touched. Lance angled his head a bit as he let a little more of the Pocky stick into his mouth, careful as to not break it. Keith mirrored him, neither of them breaking eye contact as they slowly slid closer and closer to each other. The other paladins’ voices fell away early on as they became focused on each other.

 

Lance could feel Keith’s breath against his face now, warm and slowed. He could smell him, Keith always smelled either super sweaty or newly washed. Luckily it was the latter as the space between them diminished. Lance could feel himself heating up, could hear his heart beat and his blood rush. He felt pressure on his arm, faintly recognizing Keith grabbing him as they got closer, and closer, and closer…

_This was a bad idea,_ Lance thought.

 

Lance shut his eyes before he felt it, before he had to acknowledge the soft pressure against his lips, the sharp inhale he heard Keith take, or the deafening silence in the room. It took a moment for reality to set in, for the Pocky stick to break, and for the two to push away from eachother.

 

Lance managed to trip over his own legs as he stepped back, promptly falling to the floor and swallowing the last of the biscuit stick. His body felt electric, and he was somewhat disoriented as he looked up at Keith who stood there with a hand over his mouth. Keith’s cheeks were flushed as he looked back down on Lance, clearly as shocked as him. The room was completely silent for a moment as everyone processed what had just happened. Lance was the first to speak.

 

“W-Well, I’ll admit you can play the game well enough, but I’m obviously the winner,” he said as he quickly stood back up. Keith’s shock quickly morphed to annoyance.

 

“What the hell Lance?”

 

“What, I’m simply saying that—“

 

“Lance,” Pidge said, interrupting him as she stood up from the couch. “Your wrist.”

 

“What? Is there something wrong?”

 

“I don’t know,” she said as she slowly walked closer to him, taking his left hand. “It might’ve been my imagination, but..”

 

Her voice trailed off as she rolled up his sleeve, revealing a paw print placed on his wrist, just so it’d be easily revealed if his sleeve moved a little. It had four digital pads and sharp claws connecting to them. It had hard lines and was completely filled in, all black. Lance could only stare down at his wrist in bafflement as Pidge spoke.

 

“A lion’s paw?” she said, seemingly puzzled. “Wait, does this mean..”

 

“Oh no,” Lance practically pleaded as he looked up from his wrist.

 

Pidge quickly turned to Keith, who already had pulled down his sleeve and was looking at his wrist. Hunk had silently stood up and moved behind Keith to see, and the disbelief on his face was more than telling enough. Keith slowly turned his hand for the others to see, a paw print identical to Lance’s, though not filled in with black but hollow instead.

 

“You have to be kidding me.”

 

“No Lance, this is real,” Hunk said.

 

“You’re soulmates,” said Pidge as she turned back to look at Lance.

 

“Wait,” Allura, who had silently watched for a long time now, finally stood up as she looked at the four others, her gaze landing at Pidge. “Are you telling me that Keith and Lance are soulmate-soulmates?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Which means destined lovers on Earth?”

 

“Pretty much yes.”

 

“ _Keith_ and _Lance_?”

 

“We’re just as shocked as you are, princess.”

 

“This can’t be happening,” Lance finally said, agitated. “I was supposed to be soulmates with some cute girl on Earth! There’s no way Mr. Grumpy-face is the love of my life!”

 

“Sorry for not living up to your expectations,” Keith said, annoyed.

 

“It’s not okay! You’re not excused!” Lance said loudly.

 

“What if it’s broken?” Hunk asked as he grabbed Keith’s arm and gently knocked on the paw print. “Maybe if you kiss again, the universe will realize it made a mistake and remove the marks?”

 

“You want me to kiss him _again_?” Keith asked, with disbelief clear in his voice. “You’re aware the first one wasn’t 100% voluntarily?”

 

“Are you saying I forced you to kiss me? I wanted it as much as you did—Actually, I wanted it less!” Lance said loudly.

 

“Yeah, yeah, you’re both stupid, we get it,” Pidge said. “I think you should try.”

 

“What?” Lance exclaimed, to which Pidge only answered with a devilish grin.

 

“It wouldn’t hurt to test the theory, now would it? Besides, it’s nothing but a kiss.”

 

Both Keith and Lance stood defeated as Pidge, Hunk and Allura watched them expectantly.

 

“Fine,” Keith said.

 

“Are you serious?” Lance asked.

 

“It’s better to try it out and know for sure. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”

 

“Well, if Keith’s okay with it then I guess we’ll do it,” Lance said, if somewhat resigned.

 

Keith only rolled his eyes as Lance slowly made his way across the floor, stopping closer than strictly necessary in Keith’s opinion.

 

“Okay should I just..”

 

“Just do it,” Keith said as he closed his eyes and waited.

 

He stood there and heard Lance breathe for a moment, waiting a little longer than he’d like to. Wondering what was taking so long, he opened one eye slightly only to see Lance pouting his lips so much they seemed stretched from his face as he closed in. Keith was quick to put his hands up and stop Lance from coming any closer.

“Woah, I said get it over with, not kiss me like you’re a fucking fish Lance!” Keith exclaimed.

 

“Well sorry but this is kind of weird for me! How else should I—“ Lance’s words were cut off by Keith pulling him closer by the neck. Lance had no time to react before their lips met and the world stood still. Electricity shot through the both of them as Lance closed his eyes and felt his body relax, leaning into the kiss. Keith instinctively dug his fingers into Lance’s hair, while Lance’s hands found their way to Keith’s hips, pulling him a bit closer.

 

Then time caught up and the both of them remembered where they where, who they where. The kiss was quickly broken off, Lance stepping back with a heavy breath while Keith’s face was bright red.

 

“What the hell,” Keith murmured from behind a hand covering half his face.

 

“Well that clearly meant something,” Allura whispered to Hunk.

 

“Lover’s kiss,” Pidge said, looking at Lance with bafflement.

 

“Quit joking, Pidge,” Keith said.

 

“No, she’s serious,” Lance said, staring at Pidge as the two had a silent conversation.

 

“I can’t believe I forgot,” Pidge said.

 

“What are you two talking about?” Keith asked, the annoyance clear in his voice.

 

“I don’t remember the exact science behind it but the reason soulmates work so well is because of this hormone,” Lance started, getting more and more restless as he continued. “I don’t remember the name of it but it’s this hormone that’s released whenever we do things that we love or that our bodies reward us for, like exercise, or eat chocolate, or hugging someone.”

 

“It’s called oxytocin, also known as the love hormone, it’s released when you’re in love” Pidge said.

 

“Yes, that. Basically when you kiss your soulmate your brain starts releasing this crazy amount of oxytocin, more so than with anything else you can do, or anyone else you can kiss. It’s especially overwhelming in the beginning,” Lance said. “It’s somewhat… addicting.”

 

“So what you’re saying is..” Hunk said, baffled.

 

“No way,” whispered Keith.

 

“Oh my god,” said Pidge.

 

“It’s like a drug,” Lance confirmed.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope u liked it goddamn im a mess im sorry ;;A;;


End file.
